Mailbox
This week in Mailbox: The 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Joe Hewer’s memories of a 1956 trip to Czechoslovakia, a 1970 Radio Prague print to commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia, weapons used by two Czech Olympic medallists, Kateřina Emmons and David Kostelecký. Listeners quoted: Jayanta Chakrabarty, Joe Hewer, Bill Smith, Steve Price.
This week the Czech Republic marked the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia and Radio Prague has brought you a number of special programmes on the topic. In response to a special feature from last Sunday produced by David Vaughan, we received this e-mail from Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi:
“After receiving the above report by e-mail I cannot but give my own experience during this period. It may seem unbelievable that during Aug 20-21 1968 when Russia invaded Prague, I was a small kid of 12 years studying in Standard 7th. My father actually initiated me to listen to Radio Prague from that young age. I clearly remember Radio Prague's broadcast on the invasion and heard the rumbling of Russian tanks on the radio. My thought during that period was that I was in fact listening to history being made. The lady commentator's nostalgic voice still haunts me to this day as I think about the heroic Czech people of 1968 and how their cherished dream of democracy was being crushed by the iron wheels of Russian tanks. The broadcast was hardly audible in the 13 metre band on my old 6-band Philips valve radio and so I was unable to record it on tape for posterity.”
Joe Hewer from Great Britain writes in his e-mail about another sad anniversary:
And still on the topic of anniversaries, our listener Bill Smith from Plymouth, UK, sent us a photo of a Radio Prague print he received in 1970 featuring the Týn Church in Prague. It was issued by Radio Prague on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia.
“Hi - I'm researching a print I have been given and have attached three pictures showing the details. I have been unable to find out anything about it on the internet including the artist's name. Is there anyone who can help me please?”
The archives department of Czech Radio were able to find out in their records that the artist was Jan Mácha. He was born in 1926 in the Moravian town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm and died in Prague in 1984. He was a graphic artist, specialising above all in the sights and monuments of Prague.
“Regarding the two Czechs who have won gold medals in shooting, I was wondering if their weapons where made in the Czech Republic? If so what brands and models are they?”
I’m afraid neither of them used a Czech-made weapon. Kateřina Emmons uses a German-made Anschütz and David Kostelecký won his medal with an Italian Perazzi.
And this brings us smoothly on to our monthly competition which again concerns Czech sports.
This month we are looking for the names of the founding fathers of the patriotic Sokol sports movement which played a vital role in the early lives of many a Czech athlete.
Please, send us your answers by the end of August to [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague. We are also interested in your personal experience with Sokol or whether there is a Sokol branch active in your area. Do you own a Sokol uniform? Have you ever taken part in a “sokolský slet”? Do let us know. We will be looking forward to your answers, as well as questions, comments and reception reports. Until next week, happy listening.
